The Matthew Aperry Suit Review

The Matthew Aperry Suit Review

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matthew aperry suit

As it starts with most suit companies I receive an email asking if I would like to review their suits.  If I have heard of the company and seen their site before I need to do little due diligence.  However, when I have not heard of the brand my first step is to do a little research.  Something that is hard to do with new or really small companies, which was the case with Matthew Aperry.

Upon first looking at the Matthew Aperry website I was, to be honest, not impressed.  The site was not as clean as many others out there and the models were wearing ill fitting suits (the site is better now, but still not where it should be).  And there was little to nothing else out there on Matthew Aperry from other resources to speak to the company’s suits.  Somewhat of a mystery the company proved to be.  I was intrigued and decided to accept Louis’s offer (Louis has been my person of contact) and review a suit from Matthew Aperry.

My first impression of the suit was quite different from my first impression of the company’s website.  I was impressed.

The measurement and ordering process was akin to others I have been through.  Choose a fabric, details and watch the measurement videos/diagrams to input my measurements.  I chose the Ocean Blue Linen fabric for the suit and vest ($279, it is listed as a pant fabric but can be made as a suit upon request).  For the jacket I chose peak lapels, 2 buttons, patch pockets, side vents, half lined, functioning sleeve buttons and no pick stitching.  I ordered two pair of pants.  One with belt loops, suspender buttons, no cuffs, no pleats and two back pockets.  The other had no belt loops, side tabs, no cuffs, no pleats and two back pockets.  The vest had 6 buttons, single breasted and 3 pockets.

It is important to make note of something.  Matthew Aperry boasts to be a bespoke operation of sorts.  So I decided to test them out with patch pockets, half lining and a specific lapel width; none of which were standard options.  Not the most complex requests, but still ones that needed to be specially requested (this is done by emailing Matthew Aperry).  Each of which were executed to my specifications.  The patch pockets were positioned an inch too high on the jacket, which Louis noted is the standard for the company.  In the future I would specify how high the pockets should be.

I was extremely impressed with the full canvas construction of the suit, especially considering it is in the sub $300 price range.  The suit was made in China (where the company is based), if you are wondering.  Please refer to the photos below.  I make some comments on how things could be better, but you have to keep in mind the price.  Also keep in mind that many of the issues can be fixed on a remake or future suits.  What I was able to take away from the suit is that although this suit is well done, with more specific instructions Matthew Aperry can make an even better suit for the same amount of money, which is good to know.

matthew aperry custom suits
The edges around the exposed parts of the inside of the jacket are left uncovered. typically, these edges are covered. However, I would not expect that for a garment at this price. So what is done is quite sufficient.
matthew aperry custom suits
Crucial half lining.  I am no expert on linen fabric, but this linen seems to be of decent quality and is a good value at the price.
matthew aperry custom suits
Nice hand stitching all around the sleevehead.
matthew aperry custom suits
Note the vertical pocket on the underside of the lapel. The inside of the jacket is clean with no stray threads or stitching.
matthew aperry suit review
Nice shanking one the jacket button.

matthew aperry suit review

matthew aperry suit review
The stitching around the sleeve buttonholes is clean. However, the stitching is black, which there is no reason for it to be, it should be a color matching the blue of the fabric.  Louis assured me that they can use matching color thread.
matthew aperry suit review
The shape and size of the patch pockets are well proportioned. But they are positioned an inch too high from the bottom of the jacket.
matthew aperry suit review
The pick stitching is nice. However, I specifically said I did not want any pick stitching on the jacket. The stitching around the breast pocket is clean, however, it could be more subtle with one line of stitching on the right side, not two.
matthew aperry suit review
Although the boutonniere stitching is clean, it is still black and in a keyhole shape. Whereas a straight one is preferable.
matthew aperry suit review
I like how the collar fabric is folded to the underside of the collar. However, the addition of a flower loop on the underside of the lapel would have been nice.
matthew aperry
The rubber strip along the inside of the waistband helps keep the shirt tucked in.
matthew aperry
As I have mentioned before I prefer a an extended slide tab closure to an extended button closure. I am sure that Matthew Aperry can do a slide tab, next time I will request it.
matthew aperry
The hemming is nicely done. Missing is the piece of fabric that acts as a cuff guard.
matthew aperry custom suits
The pockets on the pants are all well done. However, the side tabs were sewn on backwards, luckily, this should be able to be easily fixed by a tailor.
matthew aperry vest
No complaints on the vest except the previously mentioned preference for matching thread on the button holes.
matthew aperry vest
The back of the vest is the same fabric as the front.  Everything is clean and presentable on the backside.

As with any suit, the most important aspect is fit.  My measurements were followed well and I am happy with how the suit fits.  Through the body and sleeves the jacket has enough excess room to move while still keeping a decent shape.  The pants are also comfortable and I am happy with the look of them.  The shoulders sit well, but I would prefer they be more natural and have less wading and padding at the sleevehead.  On future suits I would probably decrease the shoulder width by .25″ and lengthen the jacket by the same amount.  I would also ask for a lower buttoning point, luckily the one on this jacket is not too high so as to look bad, but higher than I prefer.  But for a first suit the result is good.  I apologize for the photos being fuzzy, but hopefully you are able to get a good idea of how the suit fits.

matthew aperry suits
The shoulders could be a little narrower. Around the body there is a good shape and the sleeves were but to my specified length.  Note the slightly open quarters in front.

matthew aperry suits matthew aperry suits matthew aperry suits

What is received from Matthew Aperry for what is paid is one of the best values in the online custom suit market.  You have to keep in mind the suits are less than $300 (the lowest priced suit I have reviewed), which makes what is offered even more notable.  If you are someone who likes a lot of customization then I would say it is the best value online, at least from companies I have dealt with.  In certain circumstances I would choose Matthew Aperry over other makers who charge double.  As I have said, I was very impressed by the company’s promise to meet special requests at no additional fee.  Although there are some issues with the details I believe that with more specificity on my part the issues would not be present.  Taking all of this into account I do recommend Matthew Aperry and would order from the company again.  If you have any questions or comments of your own, please feel free to sound off in the comments.

-JLJ

 

Note: FYGblog did receive a suit in the course of this review.  Extra trousers were purchased separately.  As always, the utmost care was taken to maintain an unbiased and objective position on the company being reviewed.

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22 COMMENTS

  1. How would you compare Matthew Aperry or from Dragon Inside?

    I’m looking at a basic grey suit from each.

    I’m trying to justify spending the extra $100 for Dragon Inside and am wondering if the quality is just that much better. Based on your two reviews they both seem to be about the same. Any advice on one over the other?

    • JLG
      Obviously,Matthew gets the better construction.
      The working cuff,piping inside, even the armpit friction which the dragon inside can not provide compared to M.

      • Thanks – I ended up going with Dragon Inside. The Matthew Aperry website had such a fly-by-night feel to that I just couldn’t pull the trigger even with the cost savings dangling in front of me. They do look promising and hopefully they mature over the next few months.

    • JLG,
      Tough question. As I went for suits that are more complex than just a simple grey suit. I have also not seen the the wool fabrics from MA. I am inclined to say that if you want a simple business suit DI may be better but if you are looking for something with more custom options go for MA. LMK of any other Qs.
      -JLJ

  2. How does Matthew Aperry compare to Dragon Inside? Same league for the basics or totally different quality?

    PS – posting again after y first one disappeared.

  3. I notice there’s pick stitching in the lapel and hip pocket but not on the breast pocket. Is this normal?

    • Jason,
      I think it varies between makers. I have seen some do pick stitching on the pant pocket when there is none on the jacket and others put pick stitching at all three places.
      -JLJ

  4. How has the suit held up over time? I wear a suit everyday so mine get pretty beat. The price point of Matthew Aperry is very appealing, but I really want to avoid getting something that’s going to wear through or fall apart quickly.

    Anyone else out there actually bought from MAP?

    • Hey ES,
      I’ve just ordered a wool suit from MAP 2 days ago. Hopefully I should get it in 2 weeks from now, and I’ll let you know.

        • Tom,
          The suit I got was a linen suit. So far it has held up well. I can’t speak for the quality of the wool fabrics, but I would imagine your will generally get what you pay for with them – they will be mediocre but suitable if you budget is in the MAP range.
          -Justin

          • Excellent. I’m not so much worried about the quality as I tend to outgrow suits within a year or 2 and don’t min paying the MAP price to replace. As long as it fits well and looks good on the wedding day I’m happy!

  5. Thankyou for the most helpful review. I ordered black suits for me and my groomsmen for the wedding. 2 of us have quite athletic builds with large shoulders, chest and legs so simply don’t for into custom suits. The suits arrived today and we are very happy with them. I’ll do a bigger review with photos at some point, but thought I would post my initial comments.

    I know when we were looking at options for where to buy suits we were desperate for as much validation as possible before committing to on place–we only had time to get suits ordered from one place before the wedding!

  6. I dont trust Matthew A. Perry. They offer a Maroon colored suit on their website but the pictures they use of the model in the suit was stolen from Hubris Reed Clothiers. Hubris Reed made me a few great suits but they expensive so I was looking for alternatives when I came across Matthew’s site and saw that they blatantly stole an image from their competitor. I can’t trust ordering from them now. TFYG, take a look for yourself and maybe inquire with them about it.

    http://www.matthewaperry.com/Product/Proshow?p=259

    http://www.hubrisreed.com/collections/suits/products/the-fundamental-burgundy-suit

  7. I bought a suit from Matthewaperry and now Im addicted.. Customer service is awesome. Go to a suit tailor to take measurements don’t have your girlfriend do it. I now ordered four pairs of pants and really tailored the measurements based on the corrections in the fist order and they came out perfect… Now Im looking to order more suits and jacket. Also suck it up and order fabric samples they send you the more popular fabrics which I chose for first suit order and pants.

  8. I ordered a suit to give them a try. My expectations were very low but they managed to disappoint me anyway. The slacks are probably usable if I pair them with a sport coat but the suit coat itself was a joke. They can’t even sew a proper seam. The fabric was bunched up and looked awful. The buttons weren’t even attached properly. In all fairness to them, I did not pursue a remake of the coat. It’s possible that they could have made it right but I lost all confidence in them. It just wasn’t worth the hassle to me. The adage “you get what you pay for” still applies.

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